Techno Ninjas are video stars at Freetown-Lakeville Middle School

LAKEVILLE — The Techno Ninjas are taking the Freetown-Lakeville Middle School by storm.

DEREK VITAL

LAKEVILLE — The Techno Ninjas are taking the Freetown-Lakeville Middle School by storm.

Formed in October, the after-school club for students interested in computer animation and filmmaking currently has 60 members. And "Falcons Style," its inaugural effort — a parody of the wildly popular song and viral video "Gangnam Style" — drew rave reviews when it was unveiled before the entire student body on Dec. 21.

Now on YouTube, "Falcons" had received more than 12,500 hits as of 4 p.m. Friday.

Math teacher Nathan Eleuterio, Ninja's co-adviser with Julie Robert, came up with the concept for "Falcons Style." For two months, under the watchful lenses of the Techno Ninjas, students, faculty and the middle school Falcon mascot — at various locations throughout the school — imitated the dance moves made famous by South Korean musician Psy in "Gangnam Style."

But beyond having some creative fun, the Ninjas and their advisers also wanted to create a video that showcased the middle school's core values of respect, responsibility and resilience. So there are scenes such as students proudly proclaiming they got A's on their lessons.

"The kids had a blast," said Eleuterio. "When the video premiered in homeroom there was a buzz in the building. Everyone was talking about it all day."

From early November to mid-December, the Techno Ninjas spent countless hours on the project. Eighth-grader Joey Pasteris served as the chief editor on the project, often staying at school until 5 or 6 p.m. to trim the 130 clips shot for the 5-minute, 27-second finished product.

Joey said he was thrilled when his homeroom erupted in applause upon viewing "Falcons Style" the day before Christmas break. He said his only regret was not adding credits to the end of the video.

"I really liked making all the clips," said Joey, who'd like to pursue a career in video editing.

Seventh-grader Damien Hooper, who can be seen dancing at the end of the video, said all of the hard work paid off when he got to see the finished product for the first time.

"I thought, 'We're definitely going on Ellen,'" Damien said, in reference to the Ninjas' hopes of getting an audience with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Eleuterio and Robert said the club has given students an outlet for their creativity and taught them how to work together to complete a project.

"After-school activities are scarce," said Eleuterio. "With our school's rapidly decreasing budget, there is no money to pay for after-school activities. Julie and I decided to do this for the pure fun it would be for the students and ourselves."

Both Robert and Eleuterio say a number of students involved in the Techno Ninjas have blossomed as a result of their participation in the project, becoming more confident and outgoing.

Donna Pasteris, Joey's mom, praised the hard work and dedication of the two educators for making the club a reality. She said her son is not interested in sports and hadn't really found his niche until the Techno Ninjas came along.

"It provides a social outlet for children that otherwise wouldn't have one," Pasteris said.

The Techno Ninjas are undecided on their next project, perhaps some funny commercial parodies. And even if "Falcons Style" doesn't garner national attention, they'll still have the fond memories related to

making it.

To view the video, log on to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBBGE9TCvSk.